By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
Cass Brock of Pueblo is disappointed, to say the least, concerning access to the multiple rest stops along the Interstate 25 corridor from Denver to the southern part of the state.
“I live in Pueblo and we drive I-25 to Denver monthly and also drive south on I-25. When we drive through other states, their rest areas are and have been reopened for years since Covid restrictions. Why are Colorado rest areas still closed? I think it is a disservice to the over the road (OTR) truckers, and our state’s residents,” she said in an email to Rocky Mountain Voice staff.
According to records posted online, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) claims there are several reasons that these rest stops are still closed. The short answer is a lack of funding. The long answer describes in detail how the lack of funding and the issues surrounding the funding shortage has impacted decisions to reopen the rest areas.
Hope Wright, the real estate land asset manager for CDOT, has said that in 2007 there were 36 rest areas in Colorado. At that time, there were several new rest areas constructed with new federal dollars. But, unfortunately, there were not federal dollars to keep them maintained.
In 2008, the state began closing a few rest areas. Eckley, Raton Pass and Springfield were the first to go in 2008. Two rest areas near Larkspur were closed in 2009. Those needed expensive new sewage systems and were also being used for “nefarious activities” like methamphetamine cooking and prostitution, according to documents on the website.
The documents noted that the closer to a populated area the rest stops were, the more illegal activity was occurring, from drugs, prostitution and vandalism; in a nutshell, they attracted the wrong kind of people and the rest areas became more and more difficult to keep open.
In 2016, there were only 26 rest stops open for the public. At that point, the state conducted a study of the remaining rest areas and recommended that 10 more be closed because of a lack of funding available to maintain them and the ever-increasing costs of maintaining the facilities.
The CDOT Commission rejected the recommendations resulting from the study, determined to find a way to keep the 26 facilities available. They then created a dedicated funding stream.
“Where has funding been diverted? Isn’t that a budget item? If not, I repeat, disservice,” wrote Brock.
The highest-profile project is an overhaul of the immensely popular rest area on the east side of Vail Pass. The old, dank buildings were built in 1981, and were closed in May 2022 after identifying an inadequate water supply, heating issues, leaks and a questionable fireplace.
The new facility being built on Vail Pass will be mountain chalet-chic, with two-story windows, massive water-storage tanks, more bathrooms, more parking, cultural nods to Native Americans’ historic use of Vail Pass, life-size animal forms and interpretive panels, and a viewing platform facing down the pass toward Copper Mountain. It should reopen by late 2024, according to the website.
Lack of adequate water was also what closed the rest stops near Pueblo. According to CDOT, plans and a construction schedule are still in place for keeping and reopening the existing rest stops.
Considering that the state is $1.4 billion dollars in debt, the timeline may have to be adjusted. All this is happening at the same time as a U.S. Congressional delegation headed up by Rep. Greg Lopez is calling for more oversight of CDOT.
According to former State Senator Ray Scott, he has been trying to hold CDOT accountable for what he believes is “serious waste and abuse of public funds.”